Monday, April 7, 2008

Update Ethiopia! Now in Amsterdam


[Arkama one of the elders in a tribe of the Hamar People; Photo by Carmen Vaught]

Our time in Ethiopia has come and gone. The internet was slow and relatively inaccessible, so this update is coming a bit late.

Overall, I think that the team has loved being in Ethiopia. Most have been going places and meeting people, coming to an understanding of more of an African Woldview. The week that we started Paul Childers, our school leader, came out with our speaker from Kona, Andy Byrd. It was honestly one of the best weeks that we have had (I seem to say that every time, but that gives you an idea of the caliber of speakers we have). Instead of a Bible Course, a Humanities Course, or a Photography Course, we has classes on intimacy with God and the importance of a strong relationship with Him above so much else. He really encouraged us to press in and reach out for God wherever we are. He gave us amazing examples of Phineas, Esther, and Daniel and how their lives reflected their passion for the Lord. It was such a great week and we really needed it as a class. Occasionally, amidst all the busyness of class and traveling, it is easy to get into a bit of a slump and even become somewhat nominal in our faith.

[Old Hamar Man enjoying a lolly in Southern Ethiopia; Photo by Jeong Heon]

We came into the next week with fire and exhilarated for whatever was next. As a team, we decided to set aside one day for a 24 hour prayer day. We each sign up for a slot with a partner and power though the late hours. We really want to see God use us in tremendous ways during our travels, while we are back in Kona, and especially while we put together a publication and take it on tour. We all have an intense desire to see change in the world and we want to pursue it passionately.

Laura Fisher and her husband David Fisher, who were previously on the PhotogenX DTS joined us for the next couple of weeks. Laura taught first on African Worldview to continue our lectures in Humanities. With over 80 tribes in Africa alone, it can be hard to generalize African Worldview, but there are some common characteristics. Most of us come from a Western perspective so much of African culture and worldview is foreign and contradictory to how we live, but it was amazing to see how much of African culture relates to the Kingdom Perspective and the way that God wants us to live. God created us to be part of community; often referred to as the Body and Bride of Christ. Much of the Western world has become extremely individualistic and in many ways, we have lost sight of what it means to be part of a larger body that cannot operate unless all of the parts are functioning as one. African culture revolves around community and the understanding that each individual is part of a collective whole. I have much to learn, but Laura really opened the floodgate to allow all of us to examine the way we thing and align it to God’s Word and the way He wants us to live.

[Life in a small Ethiopian Village; Photo Series by Anna Maria Neilson]

Dave took over the next week and taught about Documentary Photography. Dave is an excellent photographer and him and Laura have been working on starting a PhotogenX and Voice for the Voiceless hub in Cape Town, South Africa where they are both originally from. We were then challenged to go out into Ethiopia to get stories from a variety of different arenas and submit a photostory about “Life in Ethiopia”. Most of us stayed around Addis Ababa, the capital, to focus on issues such as HIV/AIDS, Street Children, Women’s Issues, and Poverty. A few of the other teams went to Southern Ethiopia; one team to the far south to work with the Hamar People, and another went to a town called Sheshemene where there is a Rastafarian community, and a couple of girls went to a remote village to spend a few days. All came back with amazing and powerful stories of how God is working, but also opportunities for God to work. For example, different tribes in the Hamar People keep their populations limited by utilizing infanticide. When the child’s first teeth are coming in they are taken to the shaman. If teeth come in from the top, the child is worthy of life, but if they start coming in from the bottom first, the child is at risk of being suffocated to death. It is a practice that is completely against the heart of God, but is intensely engrained in the culture of the Hamar. These stories need to be told and the love that God has for the lives of these children needs to be communicated clearly and in a way that the Hamar will understand.

[Se Young holding a Hamar Baby; Photo by Carmen Vaught]

[Young Hamar Girl; Photo by Jeong Heon]

[The woman who's child grandchild was killed from rabies after being attacked by a rabid dog: There is no medicine for even 'simple' infections. She poses with Takeleh, a man who has a heart for the indigenous tribes of southern Ethiopia; Photo by Carmen Vaught]

Ethiopia is a truly amazing place, rich with a variety of cultures and immense beauty. This was the second time I have come and I already can’t wait to come back. Keep an eye out for the photo stories that we did during the time in Ethiopia. There is so much that needs to be told and the tool that God has given us for this time is a camera.

[Hayat, A girl in Addis Ababa who was orphaned 10 days before Tim and his outreach group visited her; Photo by Tim Dyk]

[Amariche, A Widow and mother of 7 who is living HIV positive in a home made out of tarps in Addis Ababa; Photo by Tim Dyk]

[Ethiopian Sunrise on the road in Southern Ethiopia; Photo by Carmen Vaught]



Spotlight: Scott

[Scott in Nyanga, a township in Capetown, South Africa]

Scott’s parents are thrilled that he is following after what God has for him. Like so many that join the University of the Nation’s DTS program, Scott thought that his time in Hawaii would be short-lived and then he would be going back home to pursue another career. And, like many others, life has had its ups and downs. I was surprised to find out that we have had similar pasts ultimately finding that Christ is the only way for fulfillment.

[Cape Agullis, South Africa; Photo by Scott Martin]

Before Scott made the long flight to Hawaii for mission building and DTS, Scott had been getting more and more involved at his church, but there was still something missing. He had been watching the Travel Channel and saw that Hawaii had some of the greatest beaches in the world; which he instinctively prayed something like, “that would be nice”. Little did he know that a few days later, a staff at the mission base in Kona, Hawaii would be calling him to ask if he would like to do some mission building at the UofN campus. Scott flew out and quickly applied for a DTS as well. His father is a photographer and recently upgraded all of his old film equipment to digital, but when they were in Hawaii felt like Scott should take the new digital equipment for a spin. Once the option was available for the Round the World Track, something stirred within him. He had always had a passionate desire to travel and the Track appealed to that desire. Someone had also been praying for Scott and heavily felt Psalm 37:4 for him which says, “Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” This was confirmation for Scott and he has been with the track ever since.

[Hayat, a new orphan in Addis Ababa, lost her parents 10 days before Scott and his outreach team visited her; Photo by Scott Martin]

When asked what the most difficult part of the course was, he said (like many of us) that living in a constant, close-knit community presented a bit of a challenge… he put it like this, though, “Its like washing yourself with Chore-Boy; it hurts a bit, but you end up clean.” True, community can be extremely difficult at times, but in the end, it can have amazing benefits as well.

Looking to the future of the production phase of the track and beyond, Scott has a few specifics. One of his deepest desires is to develop his leadership ability. The is a constant road that takes personal reflection, evaluation, and the gradual steps that are required of all leaders. He was hoping to also develop a greater desire to do long-term missions, but now sees his role as more of a bridge-builder, longitudinally taking short term missions teams back to the same location, building relationships that will make an impact on the Kingdom. He is a firm believer that because Jesus changed him life, part of his call now is to be a catalyst for tangible change as well. He think that’s his calling is even more specific, having a heart for the impoverished and hungry of the world.

What’s next? Who knows but our Father, who knows the end from the beginning. Scott is open to whatever his Father wants, building his faith to believe that whatever it is, God will be faithful to provide.

[The Nile by Night; Cairo, Egypt; Photo by Scott Martin]

And now, here is Scott’s final advice for the readers. “Don’t be satisfied. Find passion and get plugged in. Be involved with a ministry. You won’t look at anything the same.”

_____

Thank you for reading. I hope that you have a Blessed week. Please continue to pray for us as we are traveling, learning, and loving.
in Christ,
John Paul Vicory
for more stories and pictures visit
johnvicory.blogspot.com

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Sunday, January 20, 2008

4 Countries in the New Year: Spotlight Tara!

Hey Everyone,
I hope that this update finds you all having a New Year filled with the revelation of God's love.
I just spent quite some time updating my own personal blog about the travels of the last few weeks. I thought it might be relevant here, so as with the update email, here is the link for my own blog and I will dedicate this space to Spotlighting Tara. Please Click on the picture below to transfer to the Update Page. This probably won't happen very often, but I think I would end up writing the same thing twice!












Spotlight Tara:

When I first met Tara, I had preconceived ideas coming from a couple of friends from my DTS who knew her. They were great expectations of a vibrant personality and an overall "coolness" that I myself do not possess. Getting to know her over the last few months has been great and she really is who they told me she was going to be.
Tara did her DTS in Samoa (Pacific Islands) in 2005. She was originally planning on doing the PhotogenX DTS at the same time in Kona with Paul and Suzi, but she was told that there was a Pioneer DTS program in Samoa, so she signed up for it. It was an experience that changed the course of her life (big surprise, right?). They had their lectures in the middle of nowhere, no civilization to keep them comfortable. When we are comfortable it is hard to be stretched by God and others because we have so much else to lean on. She experienced God's heart on that small Island, getting prepared for what He had for her on outreach.
Her team spent a month in Tahiti and did a lot of prayer walking. Eventually they got involved in doing a VBS for the islanders on the Tahitian Island of Morrea. They couldn't renew their visas in Tahiti, so they prayed and God led them to New Zealand. It was here that Tara knew God's calling on her life. They had spent some time in ghetto's of South Auckland. It is a melting pot - Islanders from the surrounding islands like Samoa, Tonga, Solomon, and others travel through New Zealand, but get stuck in a less than appropriate lifestyle. They spent some time working with the youth as well as the elderly in the community.
After their time there, they went to Wellington, Tara's second home. They spent their time working with a local pastor, a single mom who was a mother to all of the kids in the community. Tara was so impacted by the time that she spent there, she traveled back by herself for another 3 months for discipling and experience. God shaped her vision for youth leadership as a calling on her life.
She is now working towards opening a coffee house/studio where she would be able to speak into the lives of the young people in a community, challenging them by her art to see outside themselves into the world and the impact that love can have on it. PhotogenX is part of that. She had a few different opportunities after coming back from New Zealand (the second time) but ended up applying for the PhotogenX program. She hopes that she can get a greater worldview, relating to the world on a bigger level, a more complete level. Experience can be empowering, not only in the personal aspect, but a relational one. In a way, it gives validity to challenges that you present to those around you. Ideology moves to reality. With the experience that she gets, she wants to be relevant in the youth around her, turning sometimes bland adolescent Christianity into something that breathes.
One of the most moving experiences came a couple weeks ago when we were learning about sacrifices in the Old Testament. We had a real live example of what Christ did for us, when we watched a goat slaughtered and prepared in a similar way that they Israelites would have. When Tara cries, she is moved, and she cried that day because she was reminded of God's gift. She said that it's good to be reminded of Christ every now and then, kinda like watching the Passion of the Christ every now and then. So often we live our lives as if nothing happened or that Jesus was always in the "buddy" role and not our sacrifice.
Tara loves to walk with God. Over Christmas break she went to Rome... by herself. She describes it as one of the best times she has ever had. Instead of a person going with her to all of the sights, she walked with God all day everyday. It kind of reminds me of when Jesus went to the mountain to pray and how important that was for Him, to connect with His Father. We all need that, but so often don't take the time out of our schedules to do so.


For your advice, she had a few things:
"Don't take life for granted... like anything"
and she also gave me one of her favorite quotes, one that resonates within me as well.
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that i was made for another world". ~C.S. Lewis
Lewis is putting words to that feeling that nothing in this world can satisfy, the need to be close to our Father. We are in this world, but our citizenship, our true origin and family is the Kingdom.



Thanks for your prayers and thoughts for us.
All for Christ
John Paul

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Saturday, December 15, 2007

Exhibitions, Christmas, and Deni Leah!


The morning was crisp, cool, and exceptionally clear compared to the period of rain and gloom that had settled over Selçuk the previous week. We had prayed for good weather so that the project we had been preparing wouldn’t be dampened.

One of the first days that we had been here, we had gone on a prayer walk, asking for God’s heart for this community. Morgan had gone to a government building and had asked for an appointment to meet what she thought was the governor of the area who turned out to be a regional governor. She got the meeting and subsequent meetings after that. In the course of our 3 weeks, we asked if we could have a photo exhibition in Selçuk and we were awarded the opportunity. Planning and preparations were undertaken and we decided to use the title “Exposing Beauty” and take photos accordingly. We broke up and covered all the different aspects of life in Selçuk and the surrounding areas and came up with 38 printed images to present back to the community.

The venue was a quadrant of concrete in the middle of the city where, in the summertime it is a tea garden outfitted with a pool and fountain. In the winter, it is deserted, the water gone; but there was a river of life on Friday as we composed our photos over the provided easels. We saw the square come to life, some people attracted by the foreigners, some attracted by the crowd that was gathering. We stood around and talked to people as they came around, getting into some great conversations. Some people invited a few of us over tea and dinner, taking us to their families and friends, and opening doors for us to share with them our stories. We love Turkey!

The Christmas Party that April Joy planned for last Wednesday night was a great time for all of us to get together as a family and enjoy each others company. We had a gift exchange game, food and soda, and even watched “Elf’!

It is less than a week until the group will disperse for Christmas. Some will be going home, some will continue to travel the world, but we will all get back together soon when we resume classes in Egypt in the beginning of January. Many haven’t seen their families and friends in 9 months since the DTS started in April so pray that they will have safe travels and great times with their families. Pray for safety for the rest of us as well as we will be traveling and spending Christmas away from our families.

Sniffles and sneezes are also a prominent sound among the group. Pray that we will all be feeling better because it is no fun being sick while traveling.

Spotlight: Deni Leah


The Christmas bulbs blinked overhead as Deni and I sat down to finally have a spotlight conversation. I had put it off for far too long, but now was the time. Deni is one of the four staff members that are accompanying the students for the next year and a half.

She was originally introduced to YWAM by people that she knew from her church in Canada. She had read a book by Floyd McClung about how the base in Amsterdam was started and then found out about a program for two weeks at the same base called Summer of Service between years at Trinity Western University. Some time after graduating, she did the Beach to Bush DTS in Brisbon, Australia and followed it by a Community Counseling School with an outreach in Egypt and the introduction to Photography class in Kona. She had met Paul and Suzi in Calgary and had committed to doing the 2 year PhotogenX DTS and Around the World Track even before she had started the Photography school.

What I like most about Deni’s stories aren’t the actual stories themselves, but to see how God has worked in her life, and her joy for experiencing more of Him and His love. She feels like she has just started to understand more about God’s love and wants to be His catalyst to bring that love to all people. She is a firm believer that if people experience God’s love, they will get to know Him. She also hopes to be a bridge between her world and the rest of the world, to get people connected and involved with what is going on and the Father’s love for all of His children. To show that there is beauty and aspects of God that we don’t often see in our limited views.

She wants to love passionately and to bring change creatively, which is something that she is learning more about being on the track. She believes that this program has an anointing to challenge people; by our presence out here, and the creative result of our experiences that we will bring home and show our world.

When asked about lessons she is learning from God, there were too many to say or even write, but here are a couple of them. She is discovering that God meets us where we are; that every person, at an individual level, can say that God loves them. He cares for his corporate body, but also for every individual that makes up that body. She is also learning about commitment to God, how we as His followers should be willing and ready to undertake any tasks he asks us to do, whether we fully understand them or not. Sometimes we can follow God’s plan if it glamorous for us, but are hesitant if it is unknown or risky.

Deni has some great words of Wisdom for us as well… “Love is a choice. It’s choosing to put the others’ hopes, dreams, and desires above our own.” Learning to serve is chasing after Jesus. He came not so be served, but to serve. Our love for God is what pushes us to serve, not because we can do anything, but it naturally flows from our experience of His love. As we receive God’s love we give it away, but continue to receive it… “It’s a beautiful dance.

Thanks for reading!
Until He returns
John Paul

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Greece to Turkey; Spotlight: Sungku


[Turkish Flag; Photo: John Paul Vicory]

“When Gallio became governor of Achaia, some Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the governor for judgement.” – Acts 18:12. Paul stood before Gallio in Corinth in July of the year 51 AD, and PhotogenX stood in that same place in November of 2007. It was hard to imagine what the area of Ancient Corinth looked like with the mass and grandeur of the numerous colonnades and archways that were found in abundance. It was also hard to picture the kind of spiritual darkness that Paul was up against throughout his entire missionary career preaching to the Gentiles. Corinth was a port city, with incalculable numbers of prostitutes and sexual immorality, even kinds that would stun us today. The main temple there to Aphrodite contained 10,000 holy priestesses who basically were temple prostitutes. Being there and knowing the background behind the Word opened our eyes to so much more to the heart Paul had for the people in Corinth… When we see Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians, we simply see it as ‘the love chapter’, but I didn’t realize that most of the people that made up the church were ex-prostitutes and that Paul was painting a picture of what love is really like, not the perverted mess that they had been involved with (many from the age of about 12).

[Columns of an ancient temple in Corinth: Photo, John Paul Vicory]

[The last remaining pillars in the temple of Apollos, Corinth: Photo, John Paul Vicory]

Another terrific experience occurred a few days after we arrived in Turkey. We are staying in a small town called Selçuk, Turkey a couple kilometers away from ancient Ephesus. Acts gives an account of a riot that occurred in the Theatre (which holds tens of thousands of people) at the end of Paul’s 2-year stay here. The stadium was at maximum capacity with tens of thousands of angry people shouting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!!!” at the top of their lungs for 2 hours. As we were reading the account in the Theatre, we tried to picture and hear (in our minds) how impressive and loud it must have been for the Christians were standing in front of them all wondering if they would make it out alive…

[The entrance to the Celsus Library in Ephesus: Photo, John Paul Vicory]

[Carla and Tim reading an Epistle of Paul close to where it was read for the first time: Photo, John Paul Vicory]

Over the last few weeks especially, the Word has come to life for each person as we study… A few of us even had a chance to experience the power of God on the Ferry ride from Greece to Turkey. The first leg of our journey took us from Athens to a small Island just opposite Turkey called Chios. It was about a 6 hour journey, but at the tail end of it, a demon possessed boy started manifesting by shrieking over and over again. My heart started pounding because I could sense the evil tormenting the boy of about 12. One of the trackers, Kate, was the first to go and Sarah Joe and I followed after. Kate had managed to get a little bit of English out of another member of the family (who mysteriously disappeared after the event) and learned that the boy was hungry, but his body prevented him from eating.

We asked if we could pray for him, but the message wasn’t getting through. All of the sudden, the boy started wrenching on the ground, grasping for shoes or whatever he could get his hands on and started throwing them around. Once he didn’t have anything to throw, he started bashing himself in the face with his fists, shrieking all the while. When this happened, the three of us laid hands on him and commanded the evil spirit to come out of him and to torment him no longer. After a few minutes, we all (unaware of each other) started praying the peace of Jesus over the boy and his life. Kate was holding his hand and he gave one final intense squeeze and then relaxed. His entire countenance changed. He opened his tear stained eyes and we could visibly see his bloodshot glazed eyes become white and clear. A few more of the trackers were here by this time and were around him praying as well. We sat him up and gave him water, which he gulped down and a banana and some cookies. He was able to eat! We sat there with him for a few more minutes, but while everything was happening, we had arrived in our port and had to leave. We tried to explain the love of Jesus, but our translator had already taken off before we arrived.

We had been studying Acts with David Hamilton, Dan Shannon, and Andrew York that entire week learning about how the God of the Bible is still alive and moving just like he did then. He wants to use those who are willing. We should set Acts and the miraculous that happened then as our standard today. Why shouldn’t we? Why do we live our entire lives without expecting that God desires to do the same things with us as he did with Peter and Paul. I was scared to death to go over and command evil out of someone, but God taught me so much in that one experience; about his power, but also his love for all people.

So, now we are here in Selcuk for the next little while, expecting God to keep using us to show the love of Jesus with those around us. Pray that we will be bold to move where he wants us, and also for the hearts and minds of the 99% of the Turkish people who are Muslim.

Spotlight: Sungku

[Sungku on the Ferry from the Greek Island Chios to Turkey: Photo, John Paul Vicory]

Sungku and I became roommates once we got to Greece because all of the guys were rooming together, but now in Turkey it is Sungku, Scott, and I together in one room. It is good to be all together, but I like it a little bit better to have only a couple roommates. I was excited about this week’s spotlight because I didn’t know Sungku very well before now. Before DTS, he had spent five months with YWAM as a Mission Builder at the U of N, Kona.

Sungku came to a personal relationship with Jesus when he was 13 in Korea. He had a couple of friends that were Christians, but they had never invited him to their church. The first time that Sung met the youth pastor of his friends’ church, he was invited to attend a service. Sungku is still a member of that church more than 10 years later. After military service, many Korean males venture to English speaking countries to learn English in order to get a better job in Korea. One of Sungku’s friends introduced him to a guy who had been staffing in Kona, and told him and his best friend about Mission Builders. Mission Builders is a program for young people to come to Kona and work on construction, in the kitchen, and on the grounds to keep everything up to speed. Sungku had a relationship end, like so many of us, so him and his best friend decided to commit to Kona. While he was there, he was encouraged to do a DTS, but didn’t have any money for it. He even started his lecture phase without registering for the DTS because he didn’t have the funds. Ever since then, he has been on an intense roller coaster of seeing God’s provision in his life, from getting his school fees, to his outreach fees, to a digital camera and even a laptop. God has proven himself so many times to Sungku and will have more opportunities, I am sure.

Sungku’s culture teaches him that he has to work hard for everything that he has and if he doesn’t have the money to do something, he can’t do it. Sung has been hard at work, doing what the Lord tells him to do, which most of the time isn’t a walk in the park. Getting sponsors and raising support is much harder to do, so God is constantly reminding him that He is God and can provide so much more than Sung can ever think or imagine. Because of his obedience, God has taken him halfway around the world and he will take him the rest of the way as well. Before the track started, God took him to Thailand and India. Sungku received a little bit of God’s heart for the people of Thailand especially and was able to minister to the Bar-Girls of Bangkok who are trapped in a cycle of poverty. He was able to share some incredible stories from his time there and in India.

[Grandmother: Photo, Sungku0

For the Round the World portion, Sung is expecting to see God’s provision more and more, and is relying on it. He knows that his impact will be great while he is out here in the world, but trusts that through a publication and tour, that God’s heart for the world will be shown on a much more wide-scale and influential level, penetrating the Western world. For the track, he wants to trust in God more and more, stepping out in the ways that the Holy Spirit is leading. It’s easy to let doubt creep in (in all of our lives), but important to remain grounded on the promises of God.

[Crying Baby: Photo, Sungku]

When asked if he had any advice for you, the readers, he said this…

“Step out! God prepares for us. If you don’t step out, it’s not going to happen.”

[Balloons: Photo, Sungku]

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or respond via email. Also, if you know of people that would appreciate the email reminder for the blog, please send me their email address (after you get permission of course!).

Thank you for your faithfulness to us as we are faithful to our Father.

In Christ

John Paul

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Last Blog from Greece; Spotlight: Jenn


[Sunset in Porto Rafti, Greece; we will miss it here; Photo John Paul Vicory]

After such great teaching from John Childers over the last 2 weeks, getting revelation after revelation from the Holy Spirit through the Word and his teaching, we are yet again blessed; David Hamilton, VP of YWAM’s University of the Nations, is joining us for the next 2 weeks. He is taking over teaching for the next 15 days, on location about the New Testament Epistles. This week, Dan Shannon and Andrew York will also be with us, imparting to us experiences of the chapters of Acts that are still being written today with their lives and the Holy Spirit leading them around the world.

Personally, I am excited to have them all there because of their commitment to follow the Lord and the experiences and lessons that they have been learning over the course of their lives. Exciting things are happening in each one of them and with the world that they influence.

On Tuesday (the 20th), we went to the Acropolis to get the teachings of Acts 18. We will be taking a tour of the area, learning the historical significance to be able to place the book of Acts in context. Then tomorrow (Thanksgiving in the US) the 22nd, we will be heading to Corinth to learn about the first and second letters to the Corinthians. All this is before we leave Greece on Saturday to arrive in Turkey where we will be visiting Ephesus. Each one of these locations, we have been informed, is bigger and better than the previous, so we are all very excited. There is something about studying the Bible where the events took place that makes the words come to life to each one of us. (Please refer to http://johnvicory.blogspot.com for a more in depth personal experience in Athens).

[Acropolis at Night; photo John Paul Vicory]

[First Olympic Stadium; Photo, John Paul Vicory]

So, pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal more and more to us through the Word and through knowledge and experience of the locations we will be visiting. Pray for safety as we travel and for the safety of the speakers as they will be leaving us at various places. We are taking a ferry to Turkey, which should be very interesting and an adventure in and of itself.

Spotlight: Jennifer Nicole

[Jennifer Nicole; photo compliments of Jenn]

I learn more and more each week how small the YWAM world is. There are people all over the world that know each other without actually knowing each other. Until we actually met in South Africa, this was the story with Jenn and myself. She is from my hometown of Metro Denver, which is great, but we actually knew many of the same people especially in our high school years. She goes to Jubilee Fellowship in Lone Tree (South Denver), which was helped to start by some really good friends of mine, the Smiths. So Jenn and a really good friend, Malori were in the same youth group together and we may have even met prior to the “first” time in South Africa.

Jenn got involved with YWAM through the pastor’s family at Jubilee Fellowship. The pastor’s daughter Amy Leech was involved with the base in Kona so, as follows other people become aware and get involved. Jenn was at a place where she really needed to step out in faith and discover who she was in the Lord, so she went to Capetown to do DTS at Media Village, close to where we were in Muizenburg. She found what she was looking for and so much more. What stuck out the most to her was the revelations of God not only as just Lord, which is common in the West today, but also as Father and Lover.

While on outreach in Namibia, Lesotho, and Johannesburg, God’s heart for the women and children of Africa was made evident to her and captured her own heart. God started speaking to her how she could use photography to tell countless stories across Africa to give them a voice. After DTS she went home for a little while. She was heavily involved with work, so it was hard for her to make it to church every Sunday, but there was one morning that, even though she wasn’t going to go, she ended up feeling like she should go. That same morning Paul and Susi Childers, the leaders of our school, spoke at Jubilee Fellowship about the Voice for the Voiceless booklet and ministry. The vision that Susi has is what Jenn has for Africa, so she applied for the PhotogenX program to get more experience with photography and how it can be used in missions. In the meantime (since she had already done DTS), she went back, out of obedience, to Media Village in South Africa to complete the School of Video Production there. She was just finishing there when she joined with the Track at the end of September.

She hopes that this school will help launch her into full time ministry with Voice for the Voiceless Africa. She hopes that through the skills and experienced here, she will be able to get more of God’s heart for her and for the women and children she feels so close to. She also hopes that she will be able to be based in Capetown and subsequently sent out to the rest of Africa, taking pictures and writing stories that will capture the true heart of Africa as a whole; not through human eyes, but through God’s heart, showing his love and his beauty.

To you readers and to the friends and family of all of those on the track, “Be in the presence of God daily; every minute of every day.”

Pray that God will impart more and more of His heart and His vision to her as she is in His presence daily.

Until next week in Turkey!

John Paul Vicory and the PhotogenX RTW Track

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Last full week in Porto Rafti: Spotlight, April Joy


[The view at sunrise a short walk from the Bethany House; Photo: John Paul]


Our time in Porto Rafti has been incredible. Not only have we been getting some tremendously profound and valuable lessons from the Bible, we have been surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation as well. It is starting to get a bit colder now, but most of the days remain beautifully clear. We have also had some amazing sunsets and sunrises although we haven’t been getting out as much to capture them with our cameras.

One of the things that I wanted to do with this blog is go through and introduce everyone on the team. Thus giving you, the readers, a little bit of background information on a different person each week with a picture and a few of the pictures they have taken as well. They will appear in no particular order, just what happens to fit in their schedule.

[April Joy; Photos courtesy of April Joy]

The first person that I want to spotlight is April Joy. April and I actually have an interesting connection. She is from the United States, Anchorage, Alaska to be specific. When I went to Westmont, there was a guy named Josh that was also from Anchorage. It turns out that April was pretty good friends with Josh’s younger brother.

Raised in a Christian home, April spent time in and out of Christian schools. Her first interaction with YWAM was from a neighbor, friends with her mother, whom had done the School of Photography in Kona. April has a passion for photography and was indecisive at the time when university came around, so she applied to the U of N in Kona to do a DTS. It was kind of a last minute decision, but one that changed her life. She arrived in Hawaii in July of 2006 carried out the lecture phase and then went to Japan for outreach.

From the first weeks that she was in Kona, she had received encouragement from both her school leader and Paul Childers to come and staff the PhotogenX DTS and continue on the Round the World Track as a student. Suzi Childers had being doing some photography workshops, during that time as well, so April was able to get to know our school leaders pretty well. She came back in April of 07 for staff training and eventually a leadership position with DTS. April recalls those times of being a student and staff in Kona as times of extreme development in her character as well as her relationship with God. He took her on outreach to Australia and India recently for the outreach portion of the DTS and ultimately to remain on the Round the World Track.

God has done a lot with April during the course of her time in YWAM and she looks forward to what he has for her in the coming year and a half on the track. On her past outreaches and missions, she has found value in discovering other people and cultures. It has led her to a better understanding of her world and who God is. Sometimes it is easy to find yourself in a metaphorical bubble made up of what is right in front of your face, especially the comforts of home. When confronting the world, she couldn’t help but see who God was and who she was on a much deeper level.

She expects that God will continue to build and develop her character through this track and reveal more and more of himself. She anticipates that he will do this by way of the intense Biblical studies as well as the interaction with various cultures around the globe. As she discovers more about Him and His creation, we can all be sure that she won’t be disappointed.

When asked if she had any advice for the fellow trackers and readers she replied, “If God isn’t the center of your life, everything will suffer.” I think that we can all learn something from the simple, yet profound wisdom.



That does it for this week. Please let me know any feedback, comments, suggestions that you have. I would love to hear them

Until then, peace and love through Christ, our Lord

John Paul

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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Around the World: Greece


[Porto Rafti, Greece. Sorry its a little small]

“photogenX round the world is a eighteen month program that consists of three major parts. The first is an around the world trip that actually started with the photogenX DTS in Kona Hawaii. So far the photogenX community has traveled through Brazil, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia and throughout various places of India and Nepal. Now you [we] are going to either continue the around the world trip or you are going to join at this point and travel through Southern and Northern Africa, the Middle East, Southern and Northern Europe and Latin America.”

The above was taken from the syllabus of the PhotogenX Around the World Track explaining the basic outline of the trip taken by about 25 students and staff. Yes, we are photographers, but more importantly, we are followers of Christ; committed to him and sharing his love with the Nations.

The itinerary for the trip is vast and so is the subject matter that we will be participating in. We have already spent a month in South Africa going over some principles of photography; exploring how to broaden our understanding of the art as well as the practical uses in missions to further the Kingdom of God. We have already had some fascinating experiences from a mini-outreach time in Capetown. The school was broken down into smaller teams of 3-6 people who researched and carried out their projects in many different spheres of life in South Africa.

Part of the team went to the Kahalari Desert on the border of South Africa and Botswana to visit the Bushmen (You may have seen them highlighted in the movie “The God’s Must Be Crazy”. Not many people know that they were heavily persecuted and hunted as animals because they are physically different in appearance to all of the other people in the surrounding areas. The teams work in photography will help in many different areas especially showing the beauty and the nobility of the people; the way that God sees them.

Another part of the team stayed around the coastal town of Muizenberg, where we were staying, to document the local homeless culture that is prevalent there. They were able to capture some intense situations and scenarios, but also some deep and personal stories that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

There were many other locations, events, and episodes from fishing boats and clothing companies to townships and orphanages. At the end of the week we had the opportunity to come together and share our Picture Stories and Essays. It provided both valuable experience, and a way to give back to different organizations and ministries who are craving documentation of their different projects.

We flew up to Greece on the 25th of October where we will reside for the next month. We are located in a coastal town about 40 minutes (by car) from downtown Athens. We will be learning about the New Testament even visiting the sites where Paul and Barnabas walked; getting some perspective on what they went through as we read of their experiences.

The town of Porto Rafti is beautiful in and of itself and it has been great to even walk around and enjoy God’s beauty. The water is clear and calm, and I am pretty sure everyone has been swimming a few time since we arrived. The academic work that we will partake in will be extremely tedious, but enjoyable. The setting that we are in will definitely make things more enjoyable. We look forward to everything that God has for us in this time.

I have been reminded of Jesus’ explanation of what is most important in this life and the direction that we should always be taking. “You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Over the next few months, this will be our prayer as we study the book, our guide, which he has given us.

My name is John Paul, and hopefully I will be updating the blog for every week that we are away. I have a little bit of experience with blogging, and God has been using it all over the world. I hope that this will not only be an outlet for us to tell of stories and experiences, but that this will be an opportunity to share in the Kingdom of God, that you would feel free to respond to what you are hearing with your thoughts, impressions, and prayers.


In Christ
photogenX Around the World

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